AN:
I know that 'when a demon calls' seems to be a priority update from the feedback I got last time for this story. I am busy with that chapter, I have set Sunday as my deadline, so um…yeah. It somehow helps me to work on other ideas when I'm feeling a bit stuck.
Mr Blue22: Hi there, got your PM but you've disabled it so couldn't get back to you. I'm still writing, though in the middle of exams right now *ahem* but, let's not talk about that. Broken chain…yeah, there's a skeleton of a chapter, still kinda stuck though. Just wanted to say now worries, am still around.
Disclaimer: I don't own dragonballz
Chapter 2
Her boss had become a stranger, a stranger she didn't care to be around. Since the day they had wheeled in that Videl Satan, Dr Son had transformed from a respectable doctor to a disheveled mad scientist. She had wholehertedly believed in his unwavering intergrity, but...clearly everyone had a price. He had been immune to threats and bribes, but the pale face of the dark haired woman had clearly done him in.
"I"ll find him" she told the hysterical clerk from dispatch.
They had been paging, beeping, and calling him all morning, nothing. They had searched his lab, his office and the cafeteria, the three places he spent most of his life in, nothing there either.
Ms Sims was surprised they hadn't caught on yet, it was obvious were he was. He was in the housing wing, a place he never used to set foot in, let alone frequent before. A place he used to jokingly refer to as the butchers domain, a place where the institute surgeons preped and operated on patients awaiting new organs.
But ever since her, he had practically grown roots in that wing. He was always there, in her room, always hovering, always lurking like some dark shadow, scaring the shit out of the nurses and doctors that came in to administer routine care to the patient. She also knew for a fact that he hadn't left the institute since that day. It was a good thing the institute had a good supply of showers, change rooms and clean clothes.
As she made her way down the brightly lit corridors, she shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. She still couldn't believe that Dr Son had actually instructed Gov to kick out a patient, kick out a patient of all things, just to create room for her...not to mention the organs that had been 'cleared' to free up some of the growth serum to grow hers.
She tried to brush her disappintment aside as she came before her door. Turning the knob deliberately slowly, she exhaled in preparation of the not so curtious treatment she was expecting to receive from him.
Bracing herself, she poked her head through the small crack.
"Dr Son" she called out
She didn't enter, she didn't want to get too close, lest he do that gruff growling thing he had taken to doing whenever anyone got too close to the patient.
'Honestly, look at him!' she thought. He hadn't shaved in eons, his hair was already looking thicker, longer, completely unruly. It was unbecoming.
"Yes?" He responded gruffly, without taking his eyes from her pale, still face.
"I have some release papers for you to sign sir" she told him
"Leave them on my desk" he said, his voice low and throaty.
"They've been on your desk for three days sir, the team from West-South Hospital is waiting on your signature" she insisted
And there it was…
That low animalistic growl that she had come to fear so much since her admittance. Not to mention that freaky breeze and the sudden tremors of the floor that made the hospital equipment shake.
She gulped, supporting herself by placing a steadying palm against the door frame. She didn't know how Dr Son made those freaky wind and quaking effects, but she wasn't about to run off. She stood her ground, there was a patient waiting on that heart, his animalistic tendencies be damned!
"Sir…I really have to insist that…" she didn't get to voice out her carefully prepared speech fully
She didn't even see him move. She just felt a light wind, a brief loom of a shadow, and in a fraction of a second, the papers she had been holding disappeared from her clasp. She blinked, barely even, and the papers were already placed back between her finger-tips.
She held back her chest in slight fright.
How the hell did he do that?
She didn't get a chance to ponder much further though, because just as suddenly as her fingers had touched the papers, she had been shoved from the threshold, onto the corridor, the door shutting firmly behind her.
'How rude!' She fumed, staggering slightly to regain her balance. That Dr Son had become nothing but a rude, boarish, animalistic brute! She fumed indignantly, straightening her blouse.
A quick glance at the papers confirmed that yes, indeed, he had signed them. She could only be grateful for small mercies she supposed.
Hurriedly she made her way to dispatch. She couldn't wait until the end of her contract, she was so outta this place!
Gohan made a sweep at the monitors again, no change, it had only been a minute since his last one. She was as pale as milk, as still as a statue, and she looked frightengly weak and fragile. That knowledge burned through his heart like acid, those were two adjectives that should never have to describe her. 'Oh Videl' he thought, watching the artificial rise and fall of her chest.
It had been weeks since that day, since they'd wheeled her in, since he'd put her on life support, since his carefully cultivated life was turned upside down. Since his insides were yanked out, turned inside out and shoved violently back into him.
When he had first read her name on that 'special request' form, his intention had been to only stabilize her, until he could get her a sensu or Dende or Buu. But Videl had picked the worst possible time to get shot. Buu had been galavanting off planet, visiting Babidi's home world of all perculiar things, and Dende, there really was never a god when you needed one, he had been off planet as well, on some lame trip to otherworld, meeting with other planetary guardians and Kais and other beings of such stature. And Korin, that useless bum of a cat, had been giving away beans to Goku and Vegeta like they were bandaids for their numerous childish altracations.
So...yeah...he had only meant to stabilize her, until he could get sort her out with the not so conventional methods, but in the end...she had ended up as a patient. One of the stills, as they were often called, by the butchers, the award winning surgeons of the Son Regenerative Institute.
All these years, and still...just the mention of her name, it still made his heart quiver with an emotion he should have recognised years ago. He had been so naïve and clueless, he hadn't even recognised his own feelings until it was too late.
Watching her now, her petite form so lifeless and still, he remembered with painstaking clarity that very last conversation they'd shared as a team.
The conversation that had unwittingly sealed the end of their unexplored relationship.
"The Saiyaman 2 costume does not make you bullet proof Videl, what were you thinking?" he had shouted under his helmet
"Well excuse me for not having bullet deflecting alien-genes, I was trying to save a life!" She had retorted angrily
"I appreciate that Videl, but you know how important that presentation was for me, storming out after sensing your distressed ki, is definately not going to paint me in the best light!" He had yelled, only because he had been frustrated by how willing she always was to put herself in danger
"As if they would refuse the student with the top grades in the world" she muttered sarcastically
"... I raised my ki just like you taught me, didn't I? You came in time to save the day, didn't you? Besides, I'm not just gonna quit my job just because you're shipping off to that nuthouse, and can no longer act as my self-appointed bodyguard!" she had yelled back
"Would it kill you to be happy for me? It's the top univeristy in the world, this is a big deal for me" he remembered how he had tried to calm things down by diverting the conversation
"Would it kill you, to be happy for me? I get to train under the most sought after tactical instructors of our time. Crime-fighting is my passion Gohan, I was always going to persue a career involving some element of it, and Terrain Storm is the best of the best, if you don't get that about me after all this time then..."
"I get it Videl, I get it, but Terraine Storm is in the middle of nowhere, in a god forsaken desert, their methods, highly controversial, it's too dangerous! They teach weapons training, they groom spies and assassins and… mercenaries and...how am I suppose to do ground breaking research when I'm worrying about the kind of trouble you'll be getting into all the time?" he had yelled, once again reminded of how dangerous this training was. He had known that she could handle herself, but…he had been worried!
"Gohan, when you met me, I was doing this job, I was a fighter, that's just who I am, and years from now, long after you've left this city, long after you've forgotten about me, I'll still be in the thick of things" she had tried to explain, of course, he had not fully taken her words at face value then
"What do you mean forget about you?" he had asked her, as if such a thing was impossible
"Look, I know how you see me okay, I'm just some pestering female who got the drop on you and managed to squeeze some blackmail into the equation" she had said in a way that made him take pause
"What? Videl, how can you say that?" he remembered how shocked he had been that she might even think that he thought that of her
"I don't fault you for it, I just...it was disappointing to hear" she had said, if only he had noticed then how pained she had been whilst saying those words
"Videl, those are Vegeta's words, not mine" he had tried to defend himself
"Funny how you didn't correct him" even now, while watching her still face, he still remembered how deeply that sentence had cut him
"Just because I didn't bother to dignify them with a response, does not mean I agreed with him" he had said, more than just hurt, that after everything they had been through, she still doubted the depth of his feelings
"Then tell me, in your own words, not your mothers, not Krilin's and not Vegeta's. Tell me Gohan, what am I to you?" she had asked him, but of course, he hadn't said the right thing
"I...Videl, you're my friend, I mean we're partners but we're friends too right right?" was all he could offer at the time, what a fool he had been, confusing those intense feelings he'd had for friendship, but damn it, he had been young and naive!
"Friends" she had repeated, her tone leaving a lot to be desired
"Aren't we?" Oh, what a clueless fool he'd been
"I guess...after all this time, I thought, I thought there might have been something...urgh, just forget it okay, just forget it" she had said, had he known back then what he knew now about the female species, he might have handled things differently
"Videl..." was all he had managed to get out before...
"Look, I gotta go, I gotta break the news to my dad, he didn't know about my application to Terraine Storm. It's not gonna be pretty" she had sighed, the other matter closed
"He just worries about you" he had defended the champ, sympathising with the man, he worried about her
"Yes well...I may not be able to fight super powerful monsters, but...the world is filled with other kinds of scum, corrupt politicians, dictators, slave traders, terrorists, human rights abusers...and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't at least try to take them out...so...I wish you luck though, at the university, they won't know what hit them" she had offered a small smile, how he had failed to notice how lacking in anything genuine it had been, he would never know
"Videl...why are you talking like this is goodbye?" he had only responded to the finality in her words
"Highschool is over, the summer is about to end, I'm going off for training in one corner of the world, and you're going off to another...the Saiyaman days are truly over" she had shrugged, as if it was obvious that their journey had come to an end
"Still..."
"I'll always be glad that I met you Gohan, it's not everyday that you meet someone that changes your life" at least that had sounded sincere
"We'll still see each other all the time won't we? I'll fly over to that deserted desert as much as I can..."
Of course, he hadn't
"Yeah sure, that'd be great, I guess I'll come and visit that grand campus of yours whenever I have a break from training..."
Of course she hadnt
He had meant to visit, he really had. There was just so much going on, moving to a new city, far, very far from home. Attending lectures, tutoring, and then there was his research...the endless societies and other activities... The social networking, the socializing...there was always something. And when he did have time to spare, there was family to see, his brother missed him terribly, and he just couldn't resist him, or his father...his mother, not that she ever gave him much choice.
There was always something, but still...he should have made the time. He should have ripped out the throat of that very first guy she had been rumoured to be seeing in the media.
It was funny how it had taken seeing her walking hand in hand in a newspaper article with some other guy, for him to finally realize the truth about his feelings. It hadn't been deep rooted friendship and loyalty that had kept him up at night, unable to think of anything but her, it hadn't been friendship at all.
The quickening of his heart whenever her face broke into a radiant smile, the tension in his stomach whenever she playfully jabbed at him, or for that matter, any other physical contact with him. That breathlessness whenever he watched her in action and that unexplained euphoria at the break of a new day, knowing they were due to see each other.
No, it hadn't been friendship he'd been feeling, long before his brain had possessed the ability to process what his heart already knew.
And by the time he came to terms with it, she was already taken. It had been over a year since they'd seen each other, over a year since that conversation...and it would be another year still, before they would see each other again. Well...discounting all the times that he would seek out her ki and secrectly hover in the shadows stalking her, but he wasn't counting those times.
"Gohan you made it!" Erasa had exclaimed excitedly
"I wouldn't miss it for the world Erasa, it's good to see you" he had told her, and it had really been good to see her. Erasa had always made it a point to stay in touch, her emails were always long...and more often than not, filled with pictures of the who's and where's she would have written about.
"I swear to god Gohan, you just get more and more handsome every time I see you...but...oops...don't tell my fiancé that, he might feel inclined to come after you and subsequently get his ass kicked" she had said, laughing, clamming her mouth shut with her hand as she broke into a fit of giggles.
He remembered how he could only scratch at the back of his neck in embarrassement at her complimnent
"Gee...thanks Erasa, congratulations on the engagement by the way, by the looks of it, it's one hell of a turnout" he had said, glancing at the huge crowd that had gathered to celebrate.
"Come, the gang from high-school is over there, I happen to know a certain young lady whose's just DYING to see you!" She had said, dragging him across the room
"Well, well, well...if it isin't brains" Sharpener had greeted, extending his hand curtuosly
Gohan hadn't really noticed it
His eyes had landed on and subsequently grew rooots on the beauty that had been standing next to him
"Videl..." He had said breathlessly, his heart skipping a few beats
"Gohan" she had said, equally as breathless, but immediately her eyes had darted, settling on the waiter passing by. Quickly she had snatched a glass of wine
"Ouch!" Sharpener said, retracting back his ignored hand
"And here she is..." Erasa sang more than said, shoving a girl with short blue hair foward.
"Izzy?" He had exclaimed, recognising her immidiately. She had been in the majority of his advanced classes, he remembered her for her quick mind and her inability to stop talking
"It really IS you!" she had squealed, giving him a hug
"When Erasa told me you were coming, I just HAD to come, your paper on the potential side-effects of Dr Nrems proposed excellerated growth on genetically engineered corn was like...oh my god, so brilliant, I just HAD to come and pick your brain about this idea..." She rambled on
"Urgh...Lizzy, you promised! No nerdy stuff!." Erasa had berated her, but he hadn't been paying attention to the two of them, he had been simply too busy watching Videl, who was already downing her second glass of wine.
"Thirsty, I see" Sharpener had comentted dryly
Videl had just scowled in his direction. Not much had changed between those two, he had observed.
And just then, a tall brunette had appeared out of nowhere to link her arm with Sharpeners.
"Sharpy pooh, won't you be a dear and get me a real drink from the bar, this lame wine is getting me nowhere" she had cooed
If he had taken the time to stop staring at Videl, he might have noticed Sharpeners blush at the endearment but...
"Come guys, let's hit the bar" Erasa had beamed, ushering Sharpner, his brunette girlfriend, and Lizzy away
And then there had been just the two of them
"It's good to see you" He had said, unable to take his eyes from her. It's not as if he had never seen her in a dress before, she had worn one at Bulma's barbecue, six months after the defeat of Kid Buu, but...that had been the first and last time he had seen her in one.
The times he had gawked at her pictures in his secret stash of newspapers, internet and magazines didn't count.
"You too" she had said, flashing him a smile
Even now as he continued to watch her still features, illuminated by the artificial institute light, he could still remember with clarity how red her cheeks had been. He had been flattered to think that she was blushing, but...as it turned out, his nose had been able to disprove that theory rather quickly...she wasn't blushing, not at all. She was just...well, nicely put...drunk.
"How's Terrain Storm?" he had found himself asking nervously, wondering where that guy she was always photographed with was.
"It's been…interesting. Just one more year and I'll be taking a job with Potlaki Intellegence" she had said as she reached for yet another glass.
"Congratulations" he had said, wondering if a job like that would hold her for long. That agency didn't really do much 'combat'
"It's nothing…Mr youngest graduate, only in your third year and you're almost done with your masters…told you they wouldn't know what had hit them" she took another swig of her drink
"Yeah, it's been hectic, but…it's going really well so far" was all he could say
"Yeah, hectic, I can believe that…in over two years, you've never come up to visit…like you said" she downed the last bit in the current glass, her eyes already on the lookout for a waiter
"I meant to…but…you never came to visit either, like you said" he had been unable to resist throwing that in there. He hadn't wanted to shoulder all the blame
"Yep! Guess that makes us both liars, just like the good ol'days huh Saiyaman?" she had said, almost laughing
"Should you be saying that so loudly?" he had said, glancing around nervously
"Still the same'ol Gohan huh? Lighten up, it's a party!" she had declared, surprising him by doing an impromptu spin on her heels, which ended with her practically snatching yet another drink from the tray that was irritatingly always within reaching distance.
He had frowned, never having seen her quiet like this before
"You're drunk Videl, maybe I should take you home" he had offered, concerned
She had burst out laughing then.
Yet, she had still surprised him by stepping up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, whispering
"Then what…planning on taking advantage of me Gohan?" the pungent smell of alcohol on her breath had really been unpleasant, but still…he hadn't been able to stop his heart from skipping a few beats
"Videl…I…I would never do such a thing…" he had croaked, his throat and lips thoroughly dry
"Like I said…same'ol Gohan" she had said, disentangling her arms from his neck
The rest of the party had been uneventful, unfortunately her 'boyfriend' had shown up, and without so much as a farewell, they had left together.
Staring at her now, he could almost feel the rage that had been swelling beneath his carefully cultivated persona throughout the rest of the party. It would have been so easy to pulverize that guy, but…it wouldn't have been the right thing to do. So instead, he had done…nothing.
This time round though, he had rudely denied anyone visitation with her since she was admitted into the institute. And that included her current boyfriend, her numerous colleagues, her boss, Mr all important director of her agency, Erasa, and even Hercule Satan himself. He had made up some nonsense about contamination and such crap, but really, he just couldn't take having anyone else around her when she was so fragile.
He should have done so many things differently in the past, but…the reality was…years later, worlds apart, Videl had been in trouble, and this time, he hadn't been there, acting as her 'self-appointed' bodyguard.
Beep, beep, beep his hand monitor interrupted his thoughts.
"Organs for patient one, two, seven, now complete" announced a computerized voice.
"This is it" he said, feeling a bit of relief for the first time in weeks as he brushed back her long hair with his fingers.
That's chapter 2 guys. Make my night and say…something. I'm trying to stay faithful to Gohan's character, just a bit older, more mature, more 'aware' and stuff. Yeah, okay…